2.8: Jackpot

Duration: 29:29

We’ve come a long way from the mechanical slot machines of the 1960s. In just the past few decades, we’ve graduated to multi-billion dollar social casinos on our smartphones and reflexive resort pricing in Las Vegas. Roll with this episode to learn more.

We’ve come a long way from the mechanical slot machines of the 1960s. In just the past few decades, we’ve graduated to multi-billion dollar social casinos on our smartphones and reflexive resort pricing in Las Vegas. Roll with this episode to learn more.

From bone-rolling to bone-rattling thrills.

If there’s one thing you can bet big on and comfortably win, it’s that society will always find a way to wager more. Ever since the days where we fashioned bones into dice and rolled them for pleasure, humans have taken to games of chance – and we’ve been raising the stakes ever since. And in 1895, when German immigrant mechanics in San Francisco invented the slot machine, the modern era of gambling took hold.

The one-armed bandit of the wild, wild west.

Casinos have always been a place for high-rollers to congregate at the table, and bet preposterous sums over drinks and laughs. But nowhere was the nexus of gaming culture so thoroughly mainstreamed, then later perfected, as it was in Las Vegas, Nevada in the post-WWII era. As slot machines graduated from small-change adornments to the Blackjack and Baccarat booths into full-immersion, data-driven, branded video gaming experiences, profitability and popularity of betting houses proliferated and the city itself flourished.

Off shore. Online. Omnipresent.

With the dawn of the Internet, and the constant drive to stay ahead of federal regulation and consumer behavior, the gaming industry expanded into new markets and new revenue streams. Off-shore, internet-based sports betting became an extraordinarily successful enterprise in its own right – independent of its super-book roots. And smartphones now became miniature social casinos, creating an always-on, ever-evolving gaming experience that adapts to your behavior while attempting to keep you playing – and paying – as long as possible. The technology may change, your luck may change, but the house always wins.

“You have, of course, the gambling data, which is powerful and predictive in and of itself. And then when that gets married to other external data that, for example, is on your consumer behavior, that can create a very powerful predictive model that can then be used to drive gambling participation.”

Keith Whyte, Executive Director, National Council on Problem Gambling

What you’ll hear in this episode

Casinos: You can cash out any time you like, but you can never leave

The 1895 San Francisco treat that started the US gambling boom

Why does Las Vegas exist? Because it can.

What counts for 80% of casino revenue? (Hint: it’s not poker)

Slot machines are basically branded video games now

The four characteristics of gambling

The thrill of the chase, broken down by neuroscience

The things that slot machines take from you that aren’t your money

A $1B battle over a rewards program

Why casinos offer you free dinners

Let’s talk about off-shore, online sports betting

Those gambling-ish games on your phone have an intriguing regulatory loophole baked into them